Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (4 page)

“
Are you not feel well, Simon? You look flushed.” Dottie said.
“Perhaps you should get some air.”

“
I’m fine,” he said, keeping a straight face despite the
discomfort caused by the heaviness in his balls. “Carry
on.”

“
We are finished.” Madame Merta said in a voice as smooth as
glass. “I shall now tell your fortune Mr Lowe.”

“
That isn’t necessary.” Simon stopped her raising his hand up.
“I only came to indulge my sister and as a favour to our
mother.”

“
Simon,” his sister reproved.

“
And I didn’t mean any offense,” he added.

Madame
Merta smiled. She kept her eyes down while she shuffled the tarot
cards so Simon couldn’t see what she was thinking. Swiftly, she
laid the cards out in a spread of three. She opened the first
card.

“
The Fool.” Madame Merta said.

Dottie
giggled and looked down under her brother’s glare.

The
fortune-teller continued, her face unreadable. “There is someone
who wants a deeper relationship but you don’t believe in it.” She
looked up and Simon felt as though she had bored a hole into his
very soul. Any thought he had, any secret was bared for her
scrutiny. “A mistress, perhaps?”

Simon
felt himself redden underneath his collar. He refused to address
Dottie’s incredulous look.

Madam
Merta opened the second card.

“
The World,” she continued. “You will meet someone while you’re
away.”

“
Away?” Dottie asked, bewildered. “But my brother has just come
back from South Africa. Surely not?”

Madame
Merta’s eyes pinned Dottie to her seat, but her smile carried
warmth.

“
My dear,” she started. “I can only tell you what the cards
tell me. Always remember you can change whatever destiny Fate
accords you.”

Then she
flipped the last card.

“
The Lovers.”

“
Now this I have to hear,” Dottie’s mouth slowly curled into a
mischievous grin.

Simon
had enough. “We better go.”

“
But we were just getting to the best part.” Dottie
whined.

“
Now, Dorothy.” Simon pierced her with a look that brooked no
argument.

Reluctantly, Dottie stood up as well, opening her purse for
Madame Merta’s fee. She handed the note to the fortune
teller.

“
Thank you,” she said with an apologetic smile.

Madame
Merta returned her smile with understanding.

“
You are welcome,” she said, before setting her gaze on
Simon.

“
And for Simon’s reading?” Dottie fished for more money inside
her reticule.

“
There is no charge.” Madam Merta spared Simon a glance.
“Consider it a gift to your brother.”

Simon’s
mouth thinned. The woman had some nerve messing about his affairs.
He stood up, glad that the tent inside his trousers was
gone.

“
Remember what I said.” Madame Merta said. “You can always
change the destiny Fate gives you.”

* *
*

Madame
Merta watched brother and sister leave, her eyes trained on Simon’s
back. There was no point asking his name because she already knew
him. With a sigh, her shoulders slumped; her arms leaned heavily on
the table as if seeking support. Her face revealed how tired she
was, as though she was the female version of Atlas. She turned
another card open, but this time, she took a moment. Her hand
shook, as if some invisible force didn’t want her to see the card’s
face. Flipping the card, she let it land on the table in the middle
of Simon’s open spread.

Death.

The howl
of a strong wind filled the room whipping everything about her.
Transforming into a tornado, it tore at the curtains, the silks,
the table, the tarot deck. It whipped around the fortune teller who
sat transfixed, allowing the wind to take her, letting it surround
her in a swirl of silk and wood. Round and round the twister went,
frenzied and angry, the shriek filling the small space until
suddenly, it stopped.

Everything, including Madame Merta was gone. There was no
sign of the room having been used save for the four cards of
Simon’s spread.

* *
*

The
afternoon heat greeted them as soon as they were out of the cool
confines of the building. Dottie whirled around and swatted Simon’s
arm.

“
Ow! What the bloody hell was that for?” Simon asked,
chagrined.

“
How could you do this, Simon? How could you be so rude?”
Dottie cried, fuming. “What did Madam Merta ever do to
you?”

“
Madame Merta is just an example of the kind of people who
fleece you of your money, Dottie. You make your destiny. You don’t
need a deck of cards to tell you.”

“
It’s my money, Simon. Neither Papa nor Mama made you my
guardian.”

“
But they made me your babysitter,” he muttered as he brushed
off an imaginary piece of lint on the lapel of his coat.

Dottie
sighed, shaking her head. “What happened to you? You used to be so
much fun. You would have even gone with me to have my fortune taken
without having to literally drag you through the streets. You were
never even half as rude before. Oh pardon me. You were never rude
at all!”

“
I grew up Dottie,” he said. “More than I can say for
you.”

Dottie
gasped, her hand covering her mouth. Hurt flashed in her green eyes
as tears threatened to spill its banks before she ran ahead of
him.

“
Dottie,” Simon called out, mentally kicking himself. It wasn’t
Dottie’s fault that he was, what she had aptly described as an old
man at thirty-five. He chased her as quickly as he could, cursing
his knee for slowing him down. “Dottie! I’m sorry!”

His
sister refused to acknowledge him and continued to cross the road.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the horse drawn tram
barrelling through the tracks at break neck speed. The blare of the
tram’s horn stopped Dottie in mid-stride.

“
Dorothy!” Simon shouted. He let go of his cane, grimacing at
the pain that seared his knee as he ran towards his sister. Screams
and shouts filled Simon’s ears but he didn’t pay heed to them. He
had to get his sister out of the way.

“
You’re safe Dottie,” he said under his breath as he pushed her
away in time from the oncoming behemoth.

Then
silence.

Chapter Three

Squeals
of delight and the chatter of the multitude greeted Juliana, Joanna
and her husband Eric. They parked the car just outside the gates of
the Park and made their way to the entrance of the fair called the
Garden of Delights. A smile lifted the sides of Juliana’s mouth
when she saw men, women, and children in medieval costumes mixed
with twenty-first century garb of jeans, t-shirts and trainers.
Court jesters and their hats with bells pranced about those that
entered the attraction. Food stalls encircled a man-made lagoon.
There was a stage a little way off where a band played. Families
watched while their children ran around them mischievously whirling
like dervishes. There was a nip in the air and the smell of apple,
spice and cinnamon carried its way towards Juliana. She inhaled
deeply, finding peace in the scent.

“
Are you happy you came?”

She
turned to Joanna who had spoken. She smiled. “Yes, I
am.”

A sudden
feeling of guilt crept into her heart as soon as a sliver of
excitement made itself known down her spine. Juliana tamped down
the guilty feeling refusing to fall prey to its destructiveness.
Joanna was right. Five years of merely existing was too much. She
straightened her shoulders, giving in to the day’s
pleasures.

“
I’m going to grab a bite to eat,” Eric said.

Juliana
saw that Joanna also wanted to go. The two were inseparable just
like she and Brody were.

“
Go with him, Jo,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”

Jo
looked at her with uncertainty. “Are you sure?”

Juliana
gave her a hug. “I’m sure. I have to move on, right?

Jo
smiled, pleased. “That’s my girl. We’ll be back.”

“
Take your time. I’ll walk around.” Juliana’s gaze drank in the
various vibrant colours and her heart lifted. “I didn’t realise I
had missed so much.”

“
All right. Call if we can’t find each other.” Joanna said
before they parted ways.

Juliana
walked idly taking in the festive atmosphere. She breathed in the
cool autumn air, basking in contentment for the first time in five
years. She lined up for ice cream in one of the stalls before she
continued walking until she found a grove. It was surrounded by
tall shrubs giving anyone inside it privacy from prying eyes or
from the madding crowd.

Popping
the end of her cone in her mouth, she wiped her hands on the seat
of her jeans as she entered the gap. The moment she did, all noise
disappeared. The absence of sound deafened her that she had to open
her mouth wide, hoping to pop the vacuum in her ears but nothing
happened. She should have been disconcerted but for some reason she
found comfort in it. As soon as the thought entered her mind all
sound returned. She could hear the muffled sounds from the fair.
She could have returned but something calming enveloped her. A
gentle breeze lifted a few wisps of her long brown hair, kissing
her cheeks like a sigh. Four stone seats sat around the curvature
of the grove and Juliana chose the seat to her left. It felt
surprisingly warm and soft under her bum. She was musing over the
strangeness of her surroundings when she saw someone enter the
grove and her breath caught in her throat.

He was
the most handsome man she had ever seen. The breeze gently ruffled
his sun bleached hair. His wide forehead was puckered into a frown
as though contemplating something deep. A five o’clock shadow
covered his angular face. Juliana wondered how it would feel like
if that same jaw nuzzled against her skin, the thought almost
making her moan with sexual need that had lain dormant for so long.
His broad shoulders and chest moved as he breathed through his
slightly patrician nose. His chiselled cheeks slanted down to a
wide mouth and Juliana became warm at the thought of having that
same mouth on her lips, her neck, on her breasts. She gasped at the
carnal thoughts that came unbidden, her sex suddenly throbbing at
the same time her heart pulsed.

And in
all that time, Brody hadn’t entered her mind.

She
turned away from the stranger sitting opposite her as guilt once
again pricked her conscience. From her peripheral vision Juliana
saw that he had noticed her.

“
Hello,” his deep timbre brought a thrumming inside her that
sent delicious tingles running down her spine.

She
turned to him and became caught in the deepest blue eyes she had
ever seen. Surprise flashed in those depths before his eyes became
unreadable.

“
Hi,” Juliana said.

“
Have you been here long?”

Juliana
shook her head. “I could say the same for you.”

He
chuckled in derision. “I’ve been here for such a long time I don’t
even know what day it is.”

“
Okay,” Juliana drew out in a long breath. Although he was
handsome, this was one person she’d rather not have a conversation
with especially when he seemed weird. How could he say that when he
had just entered the grove? Her lips turned up slightly. The only
good thing that came out of this was that the stranger helped her
to stop thinking of Brody too much.

“
What day is it?” he asked.

“
Wednesday.”

“
The date?”

Juliana
found herself replying. “The twenty-ninth of October.”

“
Year?”

“
Sorry?” She asked in bafflement.

Juliana
hesitated.

“
Go on woman! The year!”

Juliana
stood up. “I’m not going to put up with an arrogant bastard such as
you.”

“
I’m sorry. Forgive me,” he said in a rush suddenly remorseful.
“Please. I need to know the year.”

Agitation and desperation flashed across the strangers face.
His eyes became haunted. They pleaded with her. For some reason,
Juliana didn’t have the heart to refuse him.

“
Twenty thirteen.”

The
moment she mentioned the year, the stranger’s face fell. He groaned
as he covered his face with his hands. Belatedly, Juliana realized
that he wasn’t dressed in jeans nor was he in medieval costume. His
slightly rumpled cream linen suit looked more like a throwback from
Victorian times. When he stood up to pace the length of the grove,
Juliana noticed that he favoured his left leg.

“
You’re not from here,” she stated.

He shook
his head. “Not exactly.”

The
tension in his body was palpable. He stopped pacing and braced his
legs apart as he raked his hand through his hair. Juliana was sure
that underneath his three piece suit, he was all muscle without an
extra ounce of flesh.